Take A Break
by sydneysages
Summary: Katie Bell has had enough of the wizarding world. After the Battle of Hogwarts, she needs some time away to figure out who she is, and what role - if any - magic plays in her life. Who better than to help than a dashing young man who has similar concerns? / Eventual KatieOliver romance!


Hi all! So this is the first time I've written HP in a very long time...

It's a multichap which focuses on Katie getting to grips with life after Voldemort, as well as a gradual romance with a well known Puddlemere United player.

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Katie Bell had never been afraid of heights. It would have been a cause for concern if she had; after all, she first flew at the age of four, and was widely referred to as 'sweeper' by the Bell clan for her unwavering dedication to the Cleansweep brooms. Not to mention the fact that, had it not been for Voldemort, she would have been the fortieth member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team to enter the professional quidditch league.

Therefore it seemed more than a little strange that the same Katie Bell was struggling to come to terms with the fact that in less than fifteen minutes she would be aboard her first ever flight.

"Pull it together, Katie, you can do it," Katie muttered to herself, closing her eyes so that she couldn't see any of the perplexed looks her fellow passengers directed towards her. "You're twenty years old, you can handle an hour long flight."

In one hand, Katie kept a firm grasp upon her Muggle passport, and in the other she held a feather from Fawkes, Professor Dumbledore's phoenix. It had been her lucky charm ever since she had discovered it in third year on the quidditch pitch, during the one and only time she had ever seriously contemplated giving up her favourite hobby.

As she stood by the gate waiting for the plane to Edinburgh, she kept replaying the moment which had defined her life for the past week in her mind, hoping that it would be enough to get her through this relatively short flight.

It had taken Katie five months after the Battle of Hogwarts to admit that she needed help. Five months of shunning everyone in her life, screaming every time her wand sparked (something which was far too common after it had almost snapped during the battle), and struggling to understand what her purpose was in life. Involvement in a real life warzone where wounds were inflicted by short pieces of wood wasn't something she had intended to happen, ever - let alone at the age of nineteen.

Only when she went to see a wizarding counsellor did she realise something that she had never considered before: many of her issues were with magic itself.

"Have you considered that, to help you heal, it might be best to take a step back from the wizarding world?" Marie had suggested. "The mind is a complicated thing, even to wizards. If – as you say – your concerns were caused by the Battle of Hogwarts, then a little distance from the peculiarities which are so ingrained in the wizarding world could help you overcome these concerns faster."

Katie had taken a deep breath of shock. Leave the wizarding world? It was all she had ever known – how could she leave?

But deep down, there was a sigh of relief: she wouldn't have to directly engage with a force which could have killed her, and all her friends, and there was a reason for it.

So, after a long discussion with her family, Katie had taken the decision to remove herself entirely from the wizarding world. For three months, she would no longer be Katie Bell, witch – instead, she would be Katie Bell, London inhabitant who had a lot to learn about life.

Not everyone had supported her decision. Her best friend, Angelina, couldn't get her head around why Katie would want to leave the culture into which she had been born, even if it was only for a few weeks.

"But we're here to _support_ you," Angelina had stressed and stressed, and each time she said it, there were more and more tears. "You can't leave me. Not now…not now _he's_ gone."

And so that was how Katie had found herself alone in the departure lounge of Edinburgh Airport, clutching her phoenix feather in one hand and her passport in another, both petrified and strangely excited at the same time. After getting the train to Edinburgh – an experience only slightly different to her frequent trips to and from Hogwarts – Katie had decided to take the biggest risk yet, and book a one way ticket home. Though the thought of being in a tubular metal vehicle was easily the scariest thing she had encountered in the Muggle world, it was an experience completely different to anything she had experienced before. It was almost exhilarating.

"First time flying alone, huh?" From beside her, Katie heard a rough, deep voice which she could only assume was directed at her.

Opening her eyes, she noticed an elderly, large man with a colourful turban looking directly at her.

"Erm…yeah. Actually, it's my first flight ever," Katie confessed, feeling a twinge of embarrassment. Everything she had ever read about Muggles suggested that they tended to go on holiday quite frequently – meaning most of them had probably been on an aeroplane by the time they became an adult.

The gentleman blinked and then smiled, nodding enthusiastically. "Don't you worry now, dear. I flew for the first time ever last year when I went to visit my grandson in France. It was the scariest thing I've ever done. But now I love it! We fly everywhere now – don't we?" The man directed the last part of his statement to the grey-haired woman sat to his other side, who nodded in agreement. "Just remember to keep swallowing on the way up – and on the way down. Don't want your ears to pop!"

Katie smiled, and only as her lips twisted up at the side did she realise that this was the first time she had smiled in three days. For the first time since she placed her wand in the box under her bed, she could tell that the entire 'abandonment of everything she had ever known' thing she had going could actually work.

"Thank you – seriously, I didn't have a clue about that ear popping thing," Katie replied to the gentleman, sincerity ringing in every syllable. "I think that's my flight that's just been called, so I'll definitely keep swallowing! Have a lovely day."

Struggling to find her keys in her bag, Katie wished for a split second that she could just use her wand to unlock her door. Then she swore, because that was exactly the sort of thing she was trying _not_ to do.

With great effort, she extracted the keys from the bottom of her bag, beneath the littering of sweet papers and free brochures she had gathered from Edinburgh's museum scene. It was the sort of thing that would normally have been Vanished out of her bag, but Muggles didn't have access to Vanishing spells, so it would remain at the bottom until she found time to clear out the bag.

As she opened the door, Katie noticed a large letter on the top of the pile of post which had accrued during her absence. With just one glance at the ostentatiously curled script addressing the letter to Miss Katie Bell, Katie knew exactly who had sent it.

Angelina.

Chucking her bags on the floor – she could always deal with them later – Katie immediately picked up the letter and took it across to the sofa, where she immediately flopped out. Eagerly, she ripped open the envelope, keen to hear from her best friend. It had only been four days since they had seen one another, but Angelina had promised to keep Katie updated on pastoral elements of the wizarding world – just as Katie had promised to send updates on every one of her adventures.

 _Hi Katie!_

 _I know it's only been a couple of days since we last saw each other, but I just_ had _to write to you. It's so weird writing a letter rather than sending a Patrono-mail (sorry, I didn't mean to write it), but I guess I'll have to get used to it!_

 _So…updates. I saw Rhona from your year in town today – she's dyed her hair_ blonde! _I mean, seriously? But she forgot to do her eyebrows, so they just look like slugs on her face…it's absolutely ridiculous; I can't imagine why she would want to leave them as dark as chocolate. Not that there's nothing wrong with chocolate, obviously, but it just looks a bit strange. And by a bit I mean very._

 _I also started going to see that counsellor you suggested today. She's pretty good, but she keeps trying to get me to_ 'explain my issues _', whatever that means. I'm sure it'll become clearer when I go see her next week._

 _Love you lots and I can't wait to see you again,_

 _Ange_

 _PS. I forgot to say! I spoke to Dorinda Macmillan yesterday, who heard from Potus Sprout who heard from Joe Broom that Oliver Wood's in your neck of the woods. Well, they said East London and I think that's where you are…maybe? You know geography's not my strong point. But anyway, he's around, and he's taking a "sabbatical" from quidditch for a few weeks "to clear his head and his priorities" – so you might see him. Just a heads up – you know I always thought you'd end up together xoxoxoxo_

Katie read the letter, then did a double take at the postscript. Wood was _here_? In London? And not just London, but East London? Though she knew Angelina had tried to keep it hidden, Katie was well aware that her friend's aptitude for gossip meant she knew _exactly_ where Oliver was – and it was here.

Though the size of East London meant that the chances of her bumping into Wood were extremely remote, Katie couldn't help but think that, maybe, her break from the wizarding world wouldn't be quite as complete as she had hoped.

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Please let me know what you think!


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